The Doctoral Program in Design is a course offered in association between the University of Porto, the Faculty of Fine Arts—Department of Design, and the University of Aveiro—Department of Communication and Art.

It is collaborative between Professors and researchers from the departments above of both Universities and the Institute for Research in Design, Media and Culture: ID+.

The Doctoral Program in Design focuses on the following research areas:

• Culture
  Creative Practices for Cultural Development.
  Valuing and disseminating Design Heritage and local legacies of Graphic Design.
  
  
• Design for Healthcare
  Interface between people and health, environments, products and services to promote social inclusion and subjective well-being.
  
  
• Industry
  Industrial fabric, associated scalability, regional and global markets, circular and creative economies, and branding as symbolic value.
  
  
• Media
  Contemporary and traditional media towards the common good.
  Interaction Design in Computational Media.
  
  
• Territories and Communities
  Social inclusion of vulnerable and peripheral communities. 
  Ecotourism, life cycles and environmental impact.

 

This cycle of studies is structured into curricular units to be completed over three years. The 1st year curricular units are mainly oriented towards acquiring knowledge and developing skills in essential scientific areas, allowing the student to begin preparing the thesis. Years 2 and 3 are almost entirely devoted to organising and writing the thesis.

Professional opportunities include Service Design, Identity Design, Product Design, Consulting, Academia, Industry, and Research Centers. Portuguese products and brands are expected to become more competitive in international sectors if they stimulate added values: contextual, aesthetic, semantic, and functional.

In this aspect, a Doctorate in Design with the proposed characteristics will be instrumental in creating reflection and stimulating the various agents' increased dimensions of vision, originality, authorship, and innovation.

Increasing transversality and multidisciplinarity are anticipated, both regarding the dynamics between the different Universities involved in this Doctorate in Design and the vocation that Design has, as a discipline, to act as an interlocutor between the different areas of human practice and knowledge.

Objectives

Development competences related to conducting autonomous Research in Design. 

This cycle of studies is structured into curricular units to be completed over three years. The 1st year curricular units are mainly oriented towards acquiring knowledge and developing skills in essential scientific areas, allowing the student to begin preparing the thesis. Years 2 and 3 are almost entirely devoted to organising and writing the thesis.

Fields of Specialization

The Doctoral Program in Design focuses on the following research areas:

• Culture
  Creative Practices for Cultural Development.
  Valuing and disseminating Design Heritage and local legacies of Graphic Design.
  
  
• Design for Healthcare
  Interface between people and health, environments, products and services to promote social inclusion and subjective well-being.
  
  
• Industry
  Industrial fabric, associated scalability, regional and global markets, circular and creative economies, and branding as symbolic value.
  
  
• Media
  Contemporary and traditional media towards the common good.
  Interaction Design in Computational Media.
  
  
• Territories and Communities
  Social inclusion of vulnerable and peripheral communities. 
  Ecotourism, life cycles and environmental impact.

Professional Abilities

Competences related to conducting autonomous Research in Design. 

Employment Prospects

Professional opportunities include Service Design, Identity Design, Product Design, Consulting, Academia, Industry, and Research Centers. Portuguese products and brands are expected to become more competitive in international sectors if they stimulate a set of added values: contextual, aesthetic, semantic, and functional.

In this aspect, a Doctorate in Design with the proposed characteristics will be instrumental in creating reflection and stimulating the various agents' increased dimensions of vision, originality, authorship, and innovation.

Increasing transversality and multidisciplinarity are anticipated, both regarding the dynamics between the different Universities involved in this Doctorate in Design and regarding the vocation that Design has, as a discipline, to act as an interlocutor between the different areas of human practice and knowledge.

General information

Study Plan

Involved Organic Units

Certificates

Predominant Scientific Areas